Electrolytic cell



E. A. LE SUEUR.

ELECTROLYTIC CELL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.25, 1919.

Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

ERNEST A. LE SUEUR, OF OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA.

ELECTROLYTIC CELL.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

Application filed January 25, 1919. Serial No. 273,151.

for delivering heavy commercial currents to said sheets beneath thesurface of the electrolyte. My said invention will be fully understoodby reference to the accompanying drawings in whiclrFigure 1 shows a planof a set of electrodes and attachments; Fig. 2 an end elevation section,on the line AB of Fig. 1, of the apparatus of Fig. 1 v

with the exception of the parts of Figs, 3 and 4, and including a Viewof the contaming vessel and electrolyte-and showing 1n vertical centralsection a protective sleeve on the anode lead not shown in Fig. 1; Elg.3 shows a side elevation of a set of inner (athode members; Fig. 4 showsa central side elevation section view of theanode and sheath.

With more particular reference to the drawings, 1 is an anodic stem,preferably of copper, cased in the chemically res stant sheath 11, ofplatinum or the like; 2 is the main cathodic lead, also preferably ofcopper; 3, 3' and 3" are thin anodic sheets of platinum or the like; 4,4 are pleces of 1nsulating material, preferably plastlc, as rubher; 5, 5are substantially rigid pieces which may be either insulating orconducting; 6 l

is a flexible metallic casing, of sheet steel or the like; 7, 7 areself-contained sets ofinner cathode members; 8 is a yoke, convenientlyof cast iron, adapted, by means of the screw 81, to clamp all thepreceding parts together; 9, 9 are insulating separatlng pleces; 10 isan (oblong) contalning vessel of any suitable material; 20 is theelectrolyte; 12, Fig. 2, is a (preferably insulating) tube; 13, ofinsulating material, constitutes a tight joint between the parts 11 and12 and may, for instance, be of rubber or any sultable cement; 12 and 13may be combined into a single piece, for instance of rubber, and

the whole may, if desired, make a close fit on the stem and sheath; 21is a stifi' piece as of steel, adapted to distribute the pressure of theyoke 8 on one side of the assem bly the same as the piece 2 does on theother; 61 is wire cloth at the bottom of the piece 6; 71, is a metallicstrap adapted to eing bolted or otherwise attached to the casing 6..The-cathode surfaces as shown herein are constituted by the cathodiclead 2, the flexible metallic casing 6, the two sets of removablemembers 7, and the parts 8, 21, 61, 71 and 81; also, in case same aremade conductinginstead of insulating, the pieces 5, 5.

The points of the pieces 9 fit into holes in the wire cloth 61 and aretherefore not readily disturbed. The casing 11 is preferably of muchthicker metal than are the sheets 3, 3 and 3,convenient thicknesses inthe two cases being about 0.002" and 0.0008 respectively. The saidsheets are illustrated as projecting below the bottom of the stem 1 andsheath 11; this is with a view to economi'zing on the resistant metalrequired for said sheath,the latter may, however, be carried to anydesired depth. The sheets are shown parallel but they need not be so inorder to conform with the spirit of my invention. Said sheets may bebonded to the sheath 11, as, for instance, by welding; but

- the method I prefer for securin contact between said sheets and saidsheafii is to press the former against said sheath by superposing uponthem the piece 4. I have shown three pairs of double sheets (and theappropriate number of divisions of the parts 7 to correspond) but I donot wish to limit myself to this number either as an upper or a lowerlimit. The member 1 and the sheath 11 may obviouslyi be of anyconvenient shape, and the same applies to other portions of theapparatus. Innay employ a pluralitypf stems 1 and sheaths 11 but I muchprefer the single stem. The parts 12 and 13 may be omitted and theprotective sheath 11 carried higher up on the stem 1; or the said sheathmay reach above the surface of the electrolyte and the pieces 12 and 13be still used ifeven only to protect the stem 1 from corrosion due tothe creeping of solution up over the top of the sheath 11. The bottom 61may obviously be perforated in other ways than by making it of wirecloth. There is considerable advantage in the use of the self-containedsets of cathode members 7 which can be set into place after the rest ofthe electrode assembly has been made,

thus greatly simplifiyingan otherwise troublesome operation.

In speaking in the claims of"resistant metal I mean resistant tochemical attack.

I-claim: T; I

1. In an electiolytic cell an anode having a conducting stem protectedby a conducting sheath of resistant metal and'sheets of resistant metalin contact with the latter beneath the electrolyte.

2. In an electrolytic cell an anode having a,-, conducting stemprotected by a resistant conducting sheath and sheets of resistantmetal, in'contact with the latter, extending laterally and downwardlyfrom same.

3. In an electrolytic cell an anode having a conducting stem protectedby a conducting sheath of resistant metal and sheets of,

resistant metal clamped against opposite sides ofthe latter.

4. In an electrolytic cell an anode having a conducting stem protectedby a conducting sheath of resistant metal and sheets of resistant metalclamped against opposite sides of the latter and extending laterally anddownwardly from same.

-5. In an electrolytic cell an anode having I clamped against each oftwo opposite sides of said sheath. V

7. In an electrolytic cell an anode having a conducting stem protectedby a conduct-- ing sheath of resistant metal and one or more sheets ofresistant metal clamped against said sheath by an insulating memher.

8. In an electrolytic cell an anode having a conducting stem protectedby a conducting sheath of resistant metal and one or more sheets ofresistant metal clamped against said sheath by. a plastic insulatorbacked by a substantiall rigid member. 5 9. In an electrolytic ce 1 ananode having a conducting stem protected by a conducting sheath ofresistant metal and sheets of resistant metal clam ed against oppositesides of same by insu ating material. j 10. In an electrolytic cell ananode havin a conducting stem and metallic sheets pressed into contactwith o posite sides of same by insulating pieces hdld in a flexiblecasing.

11. In an electrolytic'cell an anode having a conducting stem andmetallic sheets pressed into contact with opposite sides of same byinsulating pieces held in a flexible metallic casing and clampingarrangements applied to said casing. 7 12. An electrolytic cell havingan anode possessing a plurality of anodic sheets contained in a cathodiccasing and one or more subsidiary cathode members adapted to be set intoplace and bonded to said casing after the parts previously mentionedhave been assembled.

13. In an electrolytic cell an anode havin a conducting stem with itslower portion protected by a resistant conducting sheath in electricalcontact with it and a further portion higher up protected by a sleeve,insulated from said stem, or of insulating material. I I

14. In an electrolytic cell an anode having a conducting stem with itslower portion protected by a resistant conducting sheath and aninsulated or insulating sleeve, overlapping the upper portion of saidconducting sheath and making a tight joint there with, which carries thestem higher than does said sheath.

15. In an'electrolytic cell a set of positive and negative electrodescontained in a metallic cathodic casing with perforated bottom.

ERNEST A. LE SUEUR.

protection of said

